Tag Archives: parmesan

Hello friends, how i miss sharing with you what i love doing the most! I know It’s been more than three months since the last time i posted, all i can say that i had too much on my plate and i was juggling between all my duties…. Bref! I am back 🙂

I am the biggest fan of aubergines, i find it strange how some people, (referring to my husband) don’t fancy and even find it bland. I can even eat the simplest way done, fried or grilled with just a pinch of salt or a drizzle of olive oil!

Parmigiana di melanzane, or aubergines parmesan, is an italian traditional dish far to be boring or dull! it consists of aubergines and cheese layered in a tomato sauce! Try it and if you were not fan of aubergines, trust me you will change your mind.

500g aubergines about 2 medium aubergines

1 cup mozzarela cut in cubes

1/2 cup parmesan cheese freshly grated

3 cups tomato puree

2 tbsp dry basil or a fresh bunch chopped coarsely

1 medium onion finely diced

3 tbsp olive oil divided

salt to taste

Slice the aubergines (medium thickness) removing the top and bottoms. Sprinkle them lightly with salt and set them aside for 1 hour. This drains out any excess water and helps with frying/oven grilling. Rinse the aubergines under cold water to remove the salt and pat them dry with a kitchen towel. I will not fry the aubergines, instead i will grill in the oven after drizzling on top 2 tbsp of olive oil. The taste won’t change, it is just a healthier recipe!

Meantime to prepare the tomato sauce, sauté the onion in a pan with one tbsp of olive oil until translucent and soft but not browned. Add the tomato puree and basil. Add a pinch of salt, stir then let it simmer gently for 10-15 minutes. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Spoon a small amount of tomato sauce into the bottom of a baking dish and spread it around, this will prevent the aubergines from sticking. Next, add one layer of aubergines to the dish followed by a sprinkle of parmesan cheese, cubes of mozzarella, and little tomato sauce (make sure to save 1/3 of the sauce for the final layer). Continue with the next layer until you have the last top layer to spoon over the remaining tomato sauce, grated parmesan and mozzarella cubes. Cover loosely with foil and bake for 15 minutes, remove the foil and bake for another 10 minutes until golden and bubbling.

Let it rest for 5 minutes before serving.

You can serve it with toasted bread or a green salad, and why not both 🙂

If you’ve tried this or any other recipe on the blog please let me know the result, I love hearing from you!

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It’s a one great pesto recipe to whet your appetite. I love to see heaping dishes getting relished, one of the best days when i cook to my family and leave them with a big smile and clean plates. It means it was a memorable meal!

A Spaghetti dish with chicken and especially pesto that comes to boost the flavor quotient and intensify the pleasure. You will need to prepare it: (yields 4 servings)

For the pasta:

1 pack of spaghetti

1 cup pesto sauce

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup garlic oil

salt to taste

For the chicken:

4 big chicken breasts cut lengthwise

3 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp garlic oil

1 tsp garlic powder

2 tbsp pesto sauce

roasted pine nuts for garnish (1/2 cup almost)

parmesan or emmental cheese for garnish (1 cup almost)

Boil spaghetti as per pack instructions and sauteed it with olive oil, garlic oil and pesto.

Marinate the chicken with the olive oil, garlic oil and garlic powder and cook them until nicely golden. Add the pesto sauce and combine well.

Put a generous bed of pasta, top it with chicken (as per your taste), garnish with pine nuts and cheese.

Serve it warm and enjoy the symphony of flavors. Who is counting calories? i personally don’t, i am just counting memories! Enjoy your precious time with your family and make the best out of it.

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These savory straws are perfect as appetizers, quick and easy to make and most of all they are addictively tasty. Yes i am hooked on these flaky sticks.

The most common recipes call for cheese, but being Lebanese and fond of our man’oucheh zaatar (thyme), can’t but give it a try using this frangrant and flavorful herb!

Man’oucheh style straws, and it’s heavenly delicious!

To make Zaatar straws you need:

a sheet of puff pastry (250g) makes 10-12 straws

egg wash (one egg +1 tbsp cold water)

1/3 cup ground zaatar (prepared with sumac and sesame as for man’oucheh )

pinch of salt

Roll out the defrosted puff pastry on a lightly floured board until almost 25×30 cm. Beat the egg with one table spoon of cold water and brush the surface of the pastry. Sprinkle the zaatar and salt and with the rolling pin press gently the zaatar into the dough. With the knife or pizza wheel cut the puff pastry into (1.5-2cm wide) strips. Twist each strip and lay on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper to bake for 15 mns (in a preheated oven to 200°C) until browned and puffed then turn them to bake for another 10 minutes.

To make cheese straws you need:

a sheet of puff pastry (250g) makes 10-12 straws

egg wash (one egg +1 tbsp cold water)

1/2 tsp garlic salt

pinch of black pepper

1/4 cup shredded gruyere

1/4 cup grated parmesan

Roll out the defrosted puff pastry on a lightly floured board until almost 25×30 cm. Beat the egg with one table spoon of cold water and brush the surface of the pastry. Sprinkle the garlic salt, pepper, gruyere and parmesan. With the rolling pin press gently the flavorings into the dough. With the knife or pizza wheel cut the puff pastry into (1.5-2cm wide) strips. Twist each strip and lay on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper to bake for 10 mns (in a preheated oven to 200°C) until browned and puffed then turn them to bake for another 10 minutes. Don’t over bake to not burn the cheese, they are more delicate than the zaatar straws.

You’re gonna sooooo love these melt in your mouth deliciousness. Try it with a glass of wine or bottle of beer, and enjoy!

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Do you believe that this succulent deep flavor dish is done in less than 15 minutes?! So if you are a working mum or just running short on time, this is the recipe you should save immediately; Spinach goat cheese tortellini!

The fresh tortellini (refrigerated type) are my favorite type, but if you don’t have at hands, the dry ones are just fine but requires more time to cook. This recipe calls for spinach goat cheese tortellini but any other tortellini type you find at your deli shop will also do, i know it’s not that easy to find in Doha.

Whisk milk, cream, flour and garlic powder and bring to medium heat, when the firt bubble starts to form add the Parmesan and spinach and cook together to combine for 2-3 minutes before folding in the tortellini. Simmer for 5 minutes and serve warm with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese on top.

Believe me you will never order tortellini at a restaurant anymore! Such a delicious creamy dish ready at your table with no time and efforts. Another meatless dish for those days.

After a delicious lunch I always wish if there is leftover for dinner, so i recommend to double the recipe not to regret it later!

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Spinach is one of the most versatile vegetables to include in your meals. For a dish perfect in spring, try this delectable spinach and cream cheese lasagna done in no time!

We all know that Popeye made himself super strong by eating spinach. Give your kids the habit to eat healthy and delicious. Among the World’s Healthiest vegetables, spinach comes out at the top of the ranking list for nutrient richness.

To make this lasagna you need:

500g chopped spinach (thawed if frozen)

200g cream cheese

2 cups heavy cream

2 medium onion diced

2 tbsp olive oil

lasagna sheets

1 cup shredded emmental

1 cup shredded parmesan

salt to taste

Bring olive oil to heat and cook the onions until tender and fragrant. Add the spinach and cook until done. Take off the heat add the cream cheese and combine. Stir in the heavy cream.

To assemble, use a rectangular or square casserole dish, keeping in mind that a larger one will produce less layers and a smaller one will produce more.

Start with a layer of spinach cream cheese, lay down pasta sheets, add another layer of spinach cream cheese to cover followed by parmesan. Keep in mind, you will have to divide the cup of parmesan equally in your layers. Repeat (pasta – spinach cream cheese – parmesan) until you finish by a layer of spinach cream cheese and the thick layer of emmental cheese.

Preheat oven on 200°C and bake for 25-30 minutes. Slice and enjoy!

If you like this post give it some likes and shares to spread the joy. Don’t forget to like marmite et ponpon facebook page and follow ontwitter. More interesting posts are yet to come.